


Bittersweet

by Fizzy_P0p



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Gen, Just a little tho, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 06:44:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15309705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fizzy_P0p/pseuds/Fizzy_P0p
Summary: Warm and soft, bitter and sweet, the little moments that always remain with him.





	Bittersweet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sleepyneko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepyneko/gifts).



> For my dear friend who means the world to me.

A small bell mounted on the door chimes with the arrival of customers. Two figures walk in, a tall, muscular man with thick eyebrows, the other a young, androgynous boy, his pure white hair practically blending in with his pale, snowy skin. His wide carnelian eyes blink, and he surveys the shop, observing the friendly yet foreign atmosphere.

The sweet aroma of freshly baked pastries assault Juuzou’s nose, the warm fragrance of bread laced with accents of cinnamon and vanilla. The soft murmurs of conversation fill the shop, gently rising and faltering in volume like the ocean’s waves. Shinohara gestures for Juuzou to follow him, and they sit at a small table near the expansive glass window, looking out at people-filled streets of Tokyo.

A waitress walks by. “Can we get two coffees and some doughnuts.” The woman nods, jotting down Shinohara’s order.

Juuzou kicks his legs out, slumping with his chin in his arms atop the glossy wooden tabletop. “Why are we here?” His voice is flippant as he questions the older man. Shinohara simply shrugs.

“To grab something to eat,” the big man replies, “you haven't been to a place like this, right?” Juuzou knows Shinohara isnot wrong. The shop’s warm atmosphere is completely unlike what he felt when he lived by Big Madam’s side, different from when he was at the academy, different from when he was around his fellow investigators. It was strange but comforting.

“Here’s your order!” The woman returns, balancing a pair of cups and a plate in her hands.

A nutty, smoky aroma rises from the porcelain coffee cup in front of him, twisting with the hot steam, curling and tickling Juuzou’s nostrils. Tiny brown bubbles drift in the otherwise umber liquid. He raises the cup to his lips, and sputters. There are hints of cocoa and roasted hazelnuts, but it's bitter, overwhelmingly so.

Shinohara chuckles, almost spitting his own coffee out. “I guess you're too young for it.” He grabs a doughnut, offering the fried dough ring to the coughing Juuzou. “Have these instead.”

Juuzou snatches the doughnut from his superior, examining it. Sparkling crystalline sugar dusts its surface, its texture soft and squishy like a freshly baked cake. The faint scent of vanilla wafts up. A gently sweet aroma. He sinks his teeth in, the fluffy pastry giving way. It was sugary, so sweet compared to the coffee that it was like a slap in the face. The boy quickly devours it, licking the last sugar crystals and cinnamon flecks from the tips of his fingers, reaching out for another.

“They're good, right?” Shinohara grins, “You look just like a child.”

Juuzou stops for a moment, and nods, “They're good.”

* * *

“Look at you, drinking coffee like an adult.” Shinohara chuckles, chewing on a cake doughnut. Juuzou looks up from his cup, and shrugs. Even though his physical therapy was going well, Juuzou's mentor still looked emaciated and frail, undoubtedly from his years of being comatose. And yet that man was still the same warm, kind, fatherly person that taught him to be human.

A faint smile ghosts across Juuzou's lips as he takes another sip, bittersweet, just like his memories. “I guess so.”


End file.
